Republican makes major announcement in push to grow GOP support from once-solid Dem voting bloc
EXCLUSIVE: A Republican running for re-election in a race key to a possible GOP Senate majority made a major announcement Friday aimed at keeping a crucial voting bloc away from the Democrats.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott announced the latest ad installment of a multimillion-dollar investment in Hispanic outreach, one that his campaign hopes will continue the demographic's swing toward the GOP and further solidify the state as deep red.
"As parents, we teach values to our children, the difference between right and wrong, truth and lies. But then we send our kids to school where some radical socialist teacher doesn't teach them math or English. No, they're taught that men can have babies and become women, and that we should worship the god of government, not the God who created us. That is socialism," Scott says in the ad, titled "Verdad," which will run in both Spanish and English.
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The ad will run in multiple TV and radio markets across Florida, as well as statewide on multiple digital platforms.
Socialism has been a major theme in Florida elections in recent years, especially considering the Hispanic population in the state has significant Cuban and Venezuelan heritage.
Some election experts argue that has been one of the major factors in the shift of Hispanics toward the Republican Party, which has expanded into other Hispanic groups, such as the Puerto Rican community.
According to the Americas Society/Council of the Americas, 55% of Florida's Hispanics supported Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in his 2022 re-election bid, as well as Miami-Dade County — traditionally a Democratic stronghold that Hillary Clinton won by 29 percentage points in 2016.
Scott, who is expected to sail to victory in the Republican primary on Aug. 20, will likely face Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, the former representative of Florida's 26th Congressional District ousted in the 2020 election.
Elections analysts rate the race as either "likely" or "solid" Republican.